


365 days of the lovely moon

by grossnoona



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Birthday Party, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, M/M, Not Beta Read, Photographs, happy birthday ritsu my stupid moon, there are a couple of others mentioned but theyre not as necessary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26586442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grossnoona/pseuds/grossnoona
Summary: Click!Ever since Ritsu’s last birthday, that’s all he hears.Click!To be honest, had this been part of a photoshoot or something, Ritsu wouldn’t be so bothered. Ritsu wouldn’t be bothered at all. After all, cameras are part of his daily life.Click!The difference betweenthatand this is the fact thatall of his family and friendsare doing it. Without telling Ritsu why too.Say, this isn’t going to be used for anything embarrassing, right?[Happy Birthday, Ritsu!]
Relationships: Isara Mao/Sakuma Ritsu
Kudos: 46





	365 days of the lovely moon

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S 5AM (GO TO BED) AFTER I UPLOAD THIS  
> Hello grossnoona here and surprise, the reason why I'm uploading this at a _hilariously_ indecent time is bc (pops party poppers) I'm celebrating my birthday today (22nd) even tho I'm born yesterday (21st)!! so I would miss Ritsu's birthday entirely if I don't upload it like **now**  
>  Anyway, it has been a long time since I like wrote a Proper Enstars fic, let alone a Proper MaoRitsu fic(if you read my gekka eden fic then you will know what i mean)  
> anyway, happy birthday to my fav moon boy and i hope you enjoy the fic!!

To be honest, Ritsu’s birthday is an awkward date. It remarkably always lands on a weekday. It’s almost never on a weekend. Ritsu can’t complain because he can’t control elements like these but he sure knows that it’s a bit of a hassle to celebrate his birthday. People are always too busy to celebrate them, Ritsu doesn’t blame them at all. It’s hard to celebrate Ritsu’s birthday in peace.

However, Ritsu feels like this year is different. Ritsu can’t explain why. It just  _ is _ .

Ever since Ritsu’s last birthday, Ritsu has noticed Knights taking pictures of Ritsu. Not like they’re using Izumi’s expensive digital cameras or anything like that. Instead, they’re using this tiny film camera that Ritsu has never seen any of the members used. Ritsu can tell that the camera was recently bought too because Tsukasa struggled for 5 minutes before finally taking a snap of Ritsu frowning confusedly at him. Seriously, just why on earth are they only taking photos of Ritsu? Ritsu doesn’t understand these people.

Not only Knights. His friends too.

Whenever Ritsu hung around his friends, one of them would take a photo of him with that tiny film camera. Typically, it would be Arashi. It made sense, after all. She was usually the one who kept the camera in Knights but occasionally, she would let Ritsu’s other friends do it. Some of them are bad at sneaking a picture of Ritsu while others were so good, Ritsu barely registered the flash and clicking noise the camera makes when you press the shutter. Still, Ritsu never understood the point of this.

  
Surprisingly, this trick had extended to Ritsu’s own family.

His parents and brother would happily take photos of Ritsu with that damn film camera. They laugh whenever Ritsu frowned at them funny. His mother would scold him for being bad at being photogenic but Ritsu can’t help it. His face looks like this. He can’t do anything about it, Ritsu always explains as his father took a picture of them talking like this. Ritsu doesn’t try to question when it comes to his family, Ritsu knows enough to try and not to pry anything out of their mouths until the time comes. Ritsu just wished he had some sort of clue as to why they were all doing this.

Honestly, the worst one was Mao. This guy is seriously the worst out of everyone.

Ritsu almost could never catch the other in the act until he’s done taking the picture. Mao always smiles at that tiny yellow film camera of his, satisfied with the picture he took. Ritsu doesn’t understand how Mao can tell that the picture he took looks good. It’s a film camera. Not a digital camera. Mao can’t check the results unless he gets them developed.

Yet Mao always looks at the camera with so much pride. Ritsu doesn’t understand this guy at all. It’s bad enough that Ritsu isn’t allowed to see the finished product when he gets those pictures developed. Why is that? Don’t you know that Ritsu is curious too?

“You don’t even know if they’re good either.”

Mao laughs at Ritsu who seemed skeptical over Mao’s faith in his film camera.

“No, I know they’ll look good because it’s  _ you _ who I’m taking a picture of.”

Ritsu scoffs whenever Mao responds to Ritsu like that. It’s Ritsu, that’s why Mao believes the pictures will look good. Mao is the worst out of the bunch of people who have taken a picture of Ritsu. Mainly because he'll indulge in Ritsu’s curiosity but he’ll never give Ritsu a straightforward answer. Leaving Ritsu angrily pouting at him, another picture for Mao to snap.

This goes on and on for days. Ritsu can never catch a break from these stupid film cameras. He doesn’t hate everyone trying to take a picture of Ritsu, he just wished he knew why.

Is it selfish and bold of Ritsu to assume that it’s for Ritsu’s birthday? Ritsu doesn’t know. No one is giving a direct answer. Even Souma and Koga who are essentially  _ the worst liars _ Ritsu has ever come in contact with, give Ritsu an answer that doesn’t directly answer Ritsu’s question. It always leaves Ritsu guessing and guessing, even though the clues don’t make sense. What a bother. Ritsu wished someone could finally pity him and tell him the truth.

“ _ Eh―Even Ha-kun won’t tell me? _ ”

Hajime laughs apologetically as he shakes his head. Today’s photographer is Hajime. He carries a pretty blue film camera that Ritsu has seen Eichi and Tsumugi use. Ritsu wonders whose camera that actually is. Ritsu probably will never get a direct answer since that would ruin the entire plan, wouldn’t it? Guess all he can do is pose for Hajime and worry about other things. What a shame, Ritsu thought as he quietly drank his tea.

One way or another, Ritsu has gotten used to this. It just seamlessly fits into his daily life because it’s always once or twice a day. Rarely more than 3 times, Ritsu believes. At least, that’s how many takes Ritsu will notice. It’s probably more than that. Way more than the number Ritsu is probably guessing. Depending on the person, Ritsu might be pretty close to the number of takes they take or  _ extremely _ way off. It makes Ritsu laugh, just thinking about it.

The person Ritsu believes that takes  _ the most pictures _ of Ritsu whenever he’s holding the camera is Mao.

Definitely beats Izumi and Rei. How is that? Ritsu doesn’t know. It’s almost hilarious if anything. Why is that? Ritsu wants to ask but he already knows why. That’s all Ritsu hears in all of their dates. From late-night ramen restaurants to cafes to their own dorm rooms, Mao is always taking a picture of Ritsu. Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Every chance he can get, Mao will surely take a picture of Ritsu.

If Mao gets bored of taking pictures of  _ just Ritsu _ , Mao will simply pull Ritsu close to him.  _ Almost too close _ . It always leaves Ritsu stuttering incoherently. Mao will always adjust the camera to a reasonable angle and length from them and before Ritsu could even ask Mao anything, he’s met with a kiss and the sound of the camera snapping a photo of them.

When Mao finally pulls away, Ritsu feels himself turn red and warm.

Ritsu is always met with Mao looking at him with red-tinted cheeks that match closely to his hair and a cheeky smile. Stupid Ma-kun, Ritsu shakes him for being so goddamn cheeky. Seriously, Ritsu hates Mao for being this way. What if the photo came out blurry? Who’s going to be responsible for that, huh?! Why is it that Mao doesn’t think about these kinds of things at all?!

Mao laughs as he flops on his bed with Ritsu in his arms. It’ll be fine. Ritsu is so worked up about something that will come out fine. Don’t worry. Mao knows that it’ll be a perfect photo. If Ritsu is so scared, why don’t they try it again?

Ritsu smacks Mao’s chest as Mao laughs loudly.  _ No way in hell! _

To be honest, Ritsu feels like everyone takes a picture of Ritsu during his most embarrassing moments. When he’s laughing to the point he might cry, when he’s making a funny face during a conversation with someone, or even times where he’s simply dozing off after a meal. Ritsu wished Arashi didn’t use flash for some of those pictures. Can’t be helped, though. Tsukasa took a picture of Ritsu with the flash on during some of those days, Arashi probably didn’t know it was on.

Ritsu wonders how much film has been used to take pictures of Ritsu and his friends? Ritsu feels bad that so much film is being wasted on him and him only. Don’t you people have any other muse to choose from? Seriously, Ritsu doesn’t understand what is so important about taking a picture of Ritsu. It’s not like he’s  _ that _ pretty or anything.

It feels twice as awkward when the photographer is Arashi or Izumi. It feels like the roles have been flipped. Why would  _ they _ take a picture of Ritsu? Wouldn’t it make more sense if  _ Ritsu _ took a picture of them instead? It leaves Ritsu laughing in embarrassment.

They’re always giving Ritsu such absurd instructions too. No way has a photographer ever given Ritsu a full-length profile of a character, just for him to pose for 10 minutes. Those minutes increase when Leo chips in his own absurd idea of the character that Ritsu has to play. These three are just messing with Ritsu, he swears. Though Ritsu says that, he doesn’t see any issue in indulging them and their antics. It’s fun and cute.

_ Too bad Ritsu has never seen the developed pictures. _

After wrangling Mika for an answer, Ritsu finds out that Mao is the one who gets them developed. Though a part of Ritsu doubts Mika, he’s still  _ a terrible liar _ so there is some sense of truth in it. Ritsu has tried to snoop around Mao’s room but all Ritsu finds is useless porn magazines and lost items that Mao has complained about losing. Really, just where the hell did he put these pictures? Ritsu doesn’t remember Mao being  _ this _ good at hiding things.

Maybe Mao kept them somewhere else? Maybe he asked someone else to take care of the photos for him? Ritsu doesn’t really know. All he knows is that Mao swiftly avoids the questions Ritsu tosses at him. Stupid Ma-kun. Why do you like hiding things from Ritsu so much?

Ritsu soon began giving up on thinking that those pictures meant anything special as people started to take less and less pictures of Ritsu as his birthday drew near. At some point, the only person to ever take a picture of Ritsu every day was  _ Mao. _ Even then, Ritsu only began noticing it when Mao slipped the camera back into his bag. It’s selfish but Ritsu kind of found himself feeling less ugly and pathetic-looking when people took pictures of him every day with that film camera. At least, he didn’t have to think so hard about what he looked like in the picture.

The last picture taken was the last weekend before Ritsu’s birthday.

It was pretty late at night. The only reason Mao and Ritsu were out so late was that Mao wanted to star-gaze with him. It made Ritsu laugh when Mao spoke about how the year went by so quickly.

That was the first time Ritsu was  _ fully _ aware of Mao taking a picture of him. That tiny yellow film camera was blatantly obvious in the dark. Even then, Ritsu decided that posing for Mao would be simply impossible. Nothing Ritsu does in front of Mao is photogenic. All the pictures Mao has taken of Ritsu are probably hilariously stupid and embarrassing. Ritsu doesn’t want to ruin the theme with  _ one _ good picture.

“ _ Ritsu. _ ”

Whenever Mao calls for Ritsu softly like that, Ritsu can’t help but feel his heart flutter like crazy. He can’t help but smile so brightly and warmly like that, it honestly makes his cheeks hurt a little. How embarrassing. Ah, Ritsu feels so embarrassed. How does Mao make Ritsu feel so warm like this? Ritsu can’t help but want to laugh when Mao pulls him close. The kiss they share under the moonlight is hilariously cliche but Ritsu adores it.

To be honest, Ritsu was a little sad when he noticed that Mao didn’t carry his film camera anymore. Actually, Ritsu didn’t even see him at all the next day. Busy with work, Ritsu believed. Such a shame. Ritsu enjoyed that night a lot. He wanted to do that again if he could. Surely, Mao would quickly agree to the idea but struggle to find a day to make such a date. Poor Ma-kun, always busy with work.

Ritsu spent the entire day without hearing a single click of the camera shutters. To be honest, it was pretty lonely and empty. Why is that? Ritsu doesn’t know. Maybe he found comfort in such a peculiar activity. That wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for Ritsu. Though, since it involved people, it was pretty weird for Ritsu to find comfort in.

Slipping into bed, Ritsu wondered how he’ll spend his birthday. Will it be fun and filled with people or will it be forgotten and lonely like usual? Ritsu doesn’t know, to be honest.

Typically, Ritsu disliked his birthday― _ 22nd September _ ―That’s such a forgettable date.

Ritsu says that but he finds today being the complete opposite. Ritsu is met with pictures of himself being plastered all over the office. All of them marked with a date. Starting from his birthday last year till now. How funny, Ritsu thought as he stared at all of the pictures everyone took of him.

Some of them are hilariously ugly. Ritsu could tell who took which picture. Some of them are so blurry, Ritsu can barely recall what was happening that day. Ritsu thanks the caption is written in the back, describing what was going on that day because otherwise, Ritsu would seriously not know what was happening in half of Tsukasa’s and Anzu’s pictures. Even then, they’re not terrible. Ritsu doesn’t hate them. He doesn’t hate them at all. If anything, he adores every single one of them. A part of him wants to take them off the wall and keep them but Ritsu probably isn’t allowed to do that yet.

Some of them are beautiful. For a minute, Ritsu doesn’t recognise himself. Ritsu doesn’t believe some of the pictures are  _ actually Ritsu _ . Is that what Ritsu looks like to others? Is Ritsu really that pretty? Ritsu doubts the picture of Ritsu smiling softly at the camera as he hugged a pillow. Mao took that one, Ritsu remembered that. It makes him feel embarrassed because who knew Ritsu could look like this. Ah. How embarrassing.

Though Ritsu says that, the most embarrassing ones aren’t hung. The pictures of Mao and Ritsu kissing aren’t hung on the wall. As thankful as Ritsu is about that, Ritsu can’t help but wonder where they are. Ritsu is fully aware that those pictures took  _ a lot of Mao’s film _ . Ritsu should know because Mao took  _ many pictures of them kissing _ . Maybe Mao kept them somewhere else? Ritsu couldn’t help but wonder.

“ _ Happy Birthday! _ ”

Ritsu isn’t given enough time to properly wonder about those pictures. As soon as he steps into the meeting room, Ritsu is hit with party streamers and party poppers. People wish him a happy birthday as they usher him into a chair and roll him over to his birthday cake. Everything happens so quickly, Ritsu can barely register what is happening half of the time. Before Ritsu knew it, he had blown his candles and is now forced to make a speech. God knows why. He just  _ has to _ . Anzu’s idea, maybe.

The speech was pretty embarrassing honestly. Nothing about it seemed cool at all. Ritsu felt himself turn red as he fumbled out his speech. The way everyone’s eyes were on Ritsu―It made Ritsu almost choke on his own spit. How gross. Even then, Ritsu found himself laughing till the end of that foolish speech. As long as people seemed to enjoy Ritsu’s awkwardly made speech, Ritsu was satisfied.

So many gifts. Ritsu doesn’t know how he’ll bring them back home.

Half of the gifts are ways to make Ritsu want to doze off during work even more than he already does. While the other half was a mixed variety of items that Ritsu had offhandedly mentioned he wanted to get but never found the time. Though it seemed a majority of the gifts were all related to his excessive sleeping habits. Ritsu couldn’t help but laugh every time he unwrapped a gift and found it related to his sleeping habits. Seriously, that’s all everyone thinks about when they see Ritsu, huh? He’s not complaining.

Just as Ritsu thought he had gone through all the gifts, Mao finally handed in his.

Ritsu gives him a skeptical look, it makes Mao laugh. What could it be? Ritsu wondered if Mao kept all of those lovey-dovey pictures in here. Would it make his friends and family hurl at the sight? Maybe. Does Ritsu care about having any tact or decency? Well, no but if Mao did, he wouldn’t put them in there in the first place. In other words, it’s Mao’s fault if this gift is something embarrassing. Not Ritsu’s.

_ Ah. _

“Ma-kun is so cheesy.”

_ Ritsu doesn’t know if he should accept such a gift. _

Ritsu was right. All of the pictures Mao took of them kissing were in the box but so were these other pictures that Ritsu didn’t even realise Mao took. Pictures of Ritsu staring into space, sleeping on his bed and so many other scenes where Ritsu was simply being,  _ well _ ,  _ Ritsu. _ Unlike the other pictures that were hung on the wall where there were captions to describe that particular date, Mao decides to write reasons why he loves Ritsu. From Ritsu’s voice to the comforting feeling Mao gets when Ritsu rests his head on Mao, he lists them all. Mao doesn’t try to hide away a single detail in how much he loves Ritsu.

Beneath all of those stupid pictures, Ritsu finds a necklace and a music box. Does Mao know Ritsu doesn’t like wearing jewelry because it gets in the way of sleeping? Though Ritsu says that, he can’t help but stare at the necklace fondly. Ritsu wondered what song is in that music box. Surely, it has to be a song that only Mao and Ritsu know. Mao is so stupid. He put so much effort in Ritsu’s gift.

“ _ How am I going to pay you back for your birthday? _ ” 

Ritsu finds himself crying those words out more than laughing. How embarrassing. Ritsu can only sob his words out as he hugs Mao tightly. It leaves Mao laughing as he rubs circles on Ritsu’s back. Ma-kun is so mean―He’s setting the standard too high!

In fact,  _ everyone _ is setting the standard too high. How is Ritsu going to repay back everyone and their birthdays?! All of you are so mean! Pranking Ritsu with such an elaborate prank, Ritsu feels like a dumbass for falling for it. He really thought he was going to spend his birthday, working and going home to a small birthday party with his family because that’s what he always does. He’s not used to this kind of thing, you know? He’s not used to too many people congratulating him at the same time. He’s not used to all of this attention to him on his birthday.

Wiping his tears, Ritsu takes deep breaths. Ritsu glares through his tears when he hears Mao laugh at him.  _ Don’t cry, Ritchan _ ―Ritsu will choke Mao with this necklace for doing this. Even after all of this crying, Ritsu is being honest. Without everyone, he would have spent his birthday like it was a normal day. He wouldn’t think of his birthday as anything special but it seemed everyone was eager to prove him wrong.

  
“ _ I would’ve forgotten and spent the whole day sleeping―Thanks for remembering. _ ”

**Author's Note:**

> If you're curious what film camera everyone was using, I was thinking abt the kodak m35 film camera   
> if you're wondering how everyone got ahold of one--uh, well actually, some charas already owned one (like arashi/mao) while others either borrowed the ones who already owned one (if they're in the same unit) or decided to buy a new one like right there and then for this one specific purpose (im talking abt eichi but also this thing costs like 80 bucks s o)  
> as for the song in the music box, there's nothing for me to link for you but it's the song that they made in [that Ritsu study fic I rewrote](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24206905) so choose a song you think that only maoritsu can sing!  
> anyway, I hope you enjoyed the fic and thank you for reading!!  
> (If you want, you can follow me on twt [@drunkossan](https://twitter.com/drunkossan))


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